Many rifles are available without carrying handles. For example, the Ruger 10/22 caliber rifle is a well-known and widely used firearm. This rifle normally includes a separate and detachable mounting plate located adjacent to the chamber of the rifle. A scope is mounted to the rifle using the mounting plate. Unlike other known weapons, such as the AR15/M16 rifle, the typical 22 rifle is not made with a carrying handle. In known rifles with handles, the handle is integral with, and not separate from, the remaining portions of the rifle and the scope is mounted to the top portion of the handle. If a handle having a rear sight is incorporated on the 22 rifle when a scope is not utilized, it is necessary to also elevate the front sight of the rifle so that front and rear sights are aligned. That is, if a handle is added, the scope mounting point is thereby raised in order to provide a handle space. Because of this elevation, the fixed rear sight is elevated and, to maintain the desired sight line, the front sight must also be elevated. In the known type of rifle with the integral handle, only one sight and sight slot are utilized and the sight is elevated using clamping pieces located relatively adjacent to the rifle chamber.
The Ruger 10/22 rifle includes a barrel which can be detached in a shop with appropriate tools. The detachable barrel has a reduced diameter end which fits within a sleeve in the rifle chamber. The 10/22 rifle also typically includes a retaining device attached adjacent to the sleeve and having a wedge or projection which engages a notch in the barrel to prevent withdrawal of the barrel from the sleeve. The wedge has a width substantially conforming to the width of the notch that it engages. The usual retaining device includes a block having a channeled top portion on which a portion of the barrel having the reduced end is seated. The block is fastened to the rifle with a pair of bolts extending through bores in the block. The bores align with threaded holes located adjacent to the chamber of the rifle. The barrel cannot be removed from the sleeve unless the bolts securing the block to the rifle are unscrewed from the threaded holes so that the wedge is disengaged from the barrel notch. The process of installing or removing the block thus requires the shooter to use a hexagonal wrench to screw or unscrew each bolt. Furthermore, when the block is installed on the rifle, care must be taken to align the block fastening bolts with the threaded holes in the rifle. Consequently, the installation and removal of the retaining device requires considerable time and requires the use of a tool.
In another known rifle, a detachable barrel is also incorporated. The connection/disconnection of this rifle barrel is accomplished using a threaded connector that surrounds an end portion of the barrel. This threaded connector is used to engage threads formed on the rifle near the rifle chamber.
The typical 10/22 caliber rifle also has a barrel made of only a metal material, such as steel. The all-metal barrel adds to the weight of the rifle. In one known rifle, the barrel is comprised of two different materials. An inner metal sleeve extending throughout the length of the barrel is entirely surrounded by an aluminum casting, which helps to reduce the weight of the barrel. This composite material barrel is formed by a casting process, however, and the finished product only includes the inner metal sleeve and the outer aluminum material located about the metal sleeve.